This morning, the Holy See Press Centre published the text of a Message which the Holy Father has sent to those participating in a Congress entitled Does God no longer live here? The decommissioning of places of worship and integrated management of ecclesiastical cultural heritage. The Congress has been organized by the Pontifical Council for Culture in collaboration with the Pontifical Gregorian University and the Italian Episcopal Conference and is taking place in Rome, at the Gregorian University from 29 to 30 November 2018. The Holy Father's message was read during the opening session by His Eminence, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi, President of the Pontifical Council for Culture.
To my venerable brother
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi
President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
I offer a cordial greeting to those who are participating in the Congress, assembled by the Pontifical Council for Culture, in collaboration with the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Pontifical Gregorian University to discuss the decommissioning of churches and their ecclesiastical re-purposing, as well as the administration of cultural goods into normal pastoral care, and I express my gratitude to the illustrious recorders and to those who have organized this initiative.
Saint Paul VI, a pastor who was very sensitive to the value of culture, while addressing a group who were participating in a congress for archivists, affirmed the truth that caring for documents is equivalent to caring for the cult of Christ, having the sense of the Church, recounting for us and for those who will come after us the history of the transitus Domini in the world (cf Speech to ecclesial archivists, 26 September 1963, Insegnamenti, I, 1963, 615). This happy expression can naturally be extended to include the cultural heritage of the Church.
Saint John Paul II, who was also particularly attentive to the pastoral relevance of art and cultural goods, said: In formulating their pastoral projects, the local Churches should not fail to use their cultural heritage properly. In fact, they have a singular ability to push people to a deeper perception of the values of the spirit and, witnessing in various ways the presence of God in the history of men and in the life of the Church, they have hearts of acceptance for the novelty of evangelizing. (Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, March 31, 2000: Insegnamenti, XXIII, 2000, 505).
I myself have intended to give a more markedly social expression to the theological esthetic, affirming, for example, in the Encyclical Laudato si', that paying attention to beauty and loving it helps us to get out of utilitarian pragmatism (LS, 215); as well as recalling, in a speech to the Pontifical Academies, the importance of the work of architects and artists in the redevelopment and rebirth of urban suburbs and in general in the creation of urban contexts that safeguard the dignity of mankind (cf Message to the XXI Public Meeting of the Pontifical Academies, 6 December 2016).
Following the thinking of the ecclisial Magesterium, we can therefore elaborate almost a theological discourse on cultural heritage, considering that they are part of the sacred liturgy, evangelization and the exercise of charity. In fact, they are in the first place among those things (res) that are (or have been) instruments of worship, holy signs according to the expression of the theologian Romano Guardini (The spirit of the liturgy. 1930, 113-204), res ad sacrum cultum pertinentes, according to the definition of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC, 122). The common sense of the faithful perceives the environments and objects destined to worship the permanence of a kind of imprint that does not end even after they are no longer used for this purpose.
Furthermore, ecclesiastical cultural assets are witnesses of the faith of the community that has produced them over the centuries and for this reason they are in their own way instruments of evangelization that are flanked by the ordinary instruments of proclamation, preaching and catechesis. But their original eloquence can be preserved even when they are no longer used in the ordinary life of the people of God, especially in a proper museum exhibition, which does not consider them only as documents concerning the history of art, but gives them a new life, so that they can continue to carry out an ecclesial mission.
Finally, cultural assets are aimed at the charitable activities carried out by the ecclesial community. This is highlighted for example in the Passio of the Roman martyr Lawrence, where it is said that he "had been ordered to deliver the treasures of the Church, in order to demonstrate them to the tyrant who was making fun of them, the poor, those who had been fed and clothed with the that which had been given as alms (Martyrologium Romanum, editio altera, Typis Vaticanis 2004, 444). And sacred iconography has often interpreted this tradition by showing Saint Lawrence in the act of selling the precious furnishings of the Church and distributing the proceeds to the poor. This constitutes a constant ecclesial teaching which, while emphasizing the duty of protection and conservation of the Church's goods, and in particular of cultural heritage, declares that they do not have an absolute value, but that in case of necessity they must serve the greater good of human beings and especially at the service of the poor.
Therefore, it is opportune that your Conference is taking place in these days. The observation that many churches, which were necessary until a few years ago, now are no longer needed due to the lack of faithful and clergy, or a different distribution of population in cities and rural areas, should be welcomed in the Church not with anxiety, but as a sign of the times that invites us to reflection and requires us to adapt. In some ways, this affirms the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium which, claiming the superiority of time over space, declares that giving priority to time means taking care of starting processes rather than possessing spaces. Time orders spaces, illuminates them and transforms them into rings of a constantly growing chain, without a reverse gear (EG, 223).
This reflection, which began a long time ago on the technical level and in academic and professional circles, has already been addressed by some episcopates. The contribution of the present conference is certainly to make people perceive the breadth of the problems, but also to share virtuous experiences, thanks to the presence of the delegates of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe and some countries in North America and Oceania.
Your conference will certainly give suggestions and indicate lines of action, but the concrete and ultimate choices will be given to the Bishops. I warmly recommend to them that every decision be the result of a choral reflection conducted within the Christian community and in dialogue with the civil community. Disposal of such goods should not be the first and only solution to think about, nor should this process ever be carried out in order to cause scandal among the faithful. Should it be necessary, it should be inserted in time in ordinary pastoral planning, preceded by adequate information which has been shared as much as possible.
In the First Book of the Maccabees we read that, once Jerusalem was liberated and the temple which had been defiled by the pagans was restored, the liberators, having to decide the fate of the stones of the old demolished altar, preferred to put them aside until a prophet appeared to decide their fate (Mac 4:46). Even the building of a church or its new destination are not operations that can only be treated technically or economically, but they must be evaluated according to the spirit of this prophecy: through them, in fact, passes the testimony of the faith of the Church, which welcomes and enhances the presence of her Lord in history.
With every good wish for the best outcome of the Convention, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, dear Brother, to your collaborators, the speakers and to all the participants.
From the Vatican
29 November 2018
Francis
(Original text in Italian)
Message of the Holy Father, Pope Francis
To my venerable brother
Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi
President of the Pontifical Council for Culture
I offer a cordial greeting to those who are participating in the Congress, assembled by the Pontifical Council for Culture, in collaboration with the Italian Episcopal Conference and the Pontifical Gregorian University to discuss the decommissioning of churches and their ecclesiastical re-purposing, as well as the administration of cultural goods into normal pastoral care, and I express my gratitude to the illustrious recorders and to those who have organized this initiative.
Saint Paul VI, a pastor who was very sensitive to the value of culture, while addressing a group who were participating in a congress for archivists, affirmed the truth that caring for documents is equivalent to caring for the cult of Christ, having the sense of the Church, recounting for us and for those who will come after us the history of the transitus Domini in the world (cf Speech to ecclesial archivists, 26 September 1963, Insegnamenti, I, 1963, 615). This happy expression can naturally be extended to include the cultural heritage of the Church.
Saint John Paul II, who was also particularly attentive to the pastoral relevance of art and cultural goods, said: In formulating their pastoral projects, the local Churches should not fail to use their cultural heritage properly. In fact, they have a singular ability to push people to a deeper perception of the values of the spirit and, witnessing in various ways the presence of God in the history of men and in the life of the Church, they have hearts of acceptance for the novelty of evangelizing. (Address to the Plenary Assembly of the Pontifical Commission for the Cultural Heritage of the Church, March 31, 2000: Insegnamenti, XXIII, 2000, 505).
I myself have intended to give a more markedly social expression to the theological esthetic, affirming, for example, in the Encyclical Laudato si', that paying attention to beauty and loving it helps us to get out of utilitarian pragmatism (LS, 215); as well as recalling, in a speech to the Pontifical Academies, the importance of the work of architects and artists in the redevelopment and rebirth of urban suburbs and in general in the creation of urban contexts that safeguard the dignity of mankind (cf Message to the XXI Public Meeting of the Pontifical Academies, 6 December 2016).
Following the thinking of the ecclisial Magesterium, we can therefore elaborate almost a theological discourse on cultural heritage, considering that they are part of the sacred liturgy, evangelization and the exercise of charity. In fact, they are in the first place among those things (res) that are (or have been) instruments of worship, holy signs according to the expression of the theologian Romano Guardini (The spirit of the liturgy. 1930, 113-204), res ad sacrum cultum pertinentes, according to the definition of the Constitution Sacrosanctum Concilium (SC, 122). The common sense of the faithful perceives the environments and objects destined to worship the permanence of a kind of imprint that does not end even after they are no longer used for this purpose.
Furthermore, ecclesiastical cultural assets are witnesses of the faith of the community that has produced them over the centuries and for this reason they are in their own way instruments of evangelization that are flanked by the ordinary instruments of proclamation, preaching and catechesis. But their original eloquence can be preserved even when they are no longer used in the ordinary life of the people of God, especially in a proper museum exhibition, which does not consider them only as documents concerning the history of art, but gives them a new life, so that they can continue to carry out an ecclesial mission.
Finally, cultural assets are aimed at the charitable activities carried out by the ecclesial community. This is highlighted for example in the Passio of the Roman martyr Lawrence, where it is said that he "had been ordered to deliver the treasures of the Church, in order to demonstrate them to the tyrant who was making fun of them, the poor, those who had been fed and clothed with the that which had been given as alms (Martyrologium Romanum, editio altera, Typis Vaticanis 2004, 444). And sacred iconography has often interpreted this tradition by showing Saint Lawrence in the act of selling the precious furnishings of the Church and distributing the proceeds to the poor. This constitutes a constant ecclesial teaching which, while emphasizing the duty of protection and conservation of the Church's goods, and in particular of cultural heritage, declares that they do not have an absolute value, but that in case of necessity they must serve the greater good of human beings and especially at the service of the poor.
Therefore, it is opportune that your Conference is taking place in these days. The observation that many churches, which were necessary until a few years ago, now are no longer needed due to the lack of faithful and clergy, or a different distribution of population in cities and rural areas, should be welcomed in the Church not with anxiety, but as a sign of the times that invites us to reflection and requires us to adapt. In some ways, this affirms the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium which, claiming the superiority of time over space, declares that giving priority to time means taking care of starting processes rather than possessing spaces. Time orders spaces, illuminates them and transforms them into rings of a constantly growing chain, without a reverse gear (EG, 223).
This reflection, which began a long time ago on the technical level and in academic and professional circles, has already been addressed by some episcopates. The contribution of the present conference is certainly to make people perceive the breadth of the problems, but also to share virtuous experiences, thanks to the presence of the delegates of the Episcopal Conferences of Europe and some countries in North America and Oceania.
Your conference will certainly give suggestions and indicate lines of action, but the concrete and ultimate choices will be given to the Bishops. I warmly recommend to them that every decision be the result of a choral reflection conducted within the Christian community and in dialogue with the civil community. Disposal of such goods should not be the first and only solution to think about, nor should this process ever be carried out in order to cause scandal among the faithful. Should it be necessary, it should be inserted in time in ordinary pastoral planning, preceded by adequate information which has been shared as much as possible.
In the First Book of the Maccabees we read that, once Jerusalem was liberated and the temple which had been defiled by the pagans was restored, the liberators, having to decide the fate of the stones of the old demolished altar, preferred to put them aside until a prophet appeared to decide their fate (Mac 4:46). Even the building of a church or its new destination are not operations that can only be treated technically or economically, but they must be evaluated according to the spirit of this prophecy: through them, in fact, passes the testimony of the faith of the Church, which welcomes and enhances the presence of her Lord in history.
With every good wish for the best outcome of the Convention, I cordially impart my Apostolic Blessing to you, dear Brother, to your collaborators, the speakers and to all the participants.
From the Vatican
29 November 2018
Francis
(Original text in Italian)
No comments:
Post a Comment